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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 24, 2005

Austin Eaton, III

ARDMORE, PENNSYLVANIA

CRAIG SMITH: Austin Eaton striking a blow for the Mid Amateur player, a 2&1 win. How are you fitting in to this largely collegiate event, U.S. Amateur?

AUSTIN EATON III: I don't know how I fit in. It will be interesting to see how it moves on from here, but this is uncharted territory in terms of the Amateur for me. Normally I'm used to seeing guys with job who is I play against.

It will be interesting from here. I'm really glad to get through. Didn't play my best match until later on in the round and then started playing better.

CRAIG SMITH: You told me yesterday you drove the ball well, you putted well; how was it today?

AUSTIN EATON III: Today I was a little nervous starting out. I hit wedge from 100 yards in the right hand bunker on 1 and was just a total unforced error. Luckily had halved the hole with bogey. Was a little shaky to start with. We chopped it all the way down to five. After five, we started playing better golf. It was a little shaky at the beginning.

CRAIG SMITH: 14 and 15, those were your key holes to winning.

AUSTIN EATON III: Absolutely. It could have gone either way on 14. We both hit it in the high rough on the left, and I hit first up on the hump on the left hand side off the green, and he hit through the green into the rough but not in a bad spot on the right. We both had not simple chips, but I expected him to get his up and down. I left mine about 12 feet short. He left his about 15 feet short. He missed, and then I made that 12 footer had about three feet of break in it. That was a real big blow.

And then I stood up on the next hole, which is a tough driving hole, into the wind and from there, just hit my best drive of the week right down the middle. I think it affected him, because he then hit two out of bounds. And then on 16 he made a fantastic birdie, he hit it about four feet from the hole to a real tough pin to get to. And he ended up making the 4 footer; I made par, but it was a good turn there for him.

17 was playing into the wind and that hole is a par 4. (Laughter). It says 3 on the card, but it's a par 4. I hit 3 wood short into the rough, and it came out a lot hotter than I thought it would. I thought it was a real cushy lie and the ball came out slowly, I went to the back of the green where Pablo was and had about 45, 50 feet, and I had to ply about 20 feet of break and snuggle it down about two feet from the hole.

Then he ended up not getting down in two from the back of the green in the fringe he was putting.

CRAIG SMITH: Take me through some of the comments you made yesterday, you win the Mid Am, you play in the Masters, you try like heck to be noticed to be in the Walker Cup and your game wasn't so good. That's a lot of pressure to play as a champion and live up to something.

AUSTIN EATON III: I put a bunch of pressure on myself this year to try to make the Walker Cup. It was a great goal to have. I desperately wanted to be on it. I think I tried too hard. I pushed myself too hard and did not play the way I'd like to.

So I'm glad not glad that I didn't make the team, but I'm glad that the heat is off a little bit and I can really play my own game and I was real happy with the way I played the last few days.

Q. At the Walker Cup, Bob Lewis talked about not having good hands on the team and the philosophy of picking ten best players, but he did mention it's time for the Mid Ams to step up and pick up their games this week, obviously four Mid Ams today have won matches, including you and George?

AUSTIN EATON III: Nathan Smith, as well.

Q. I think he's turning pro; rumors he is. But can you talk about maybe stepping up your game this week and maybe as a stepping stone for the next Walker Cup?

AUSTIN EATON III: I think this could be a great help, because I realize I realized before, that I can play with the best. But the way I played this week just hammers it home; that if I go relax and play my own game, I can compete with anybody.

Q. Talk about having that career, home building with your father. They are not here, you call home, you're checking on the job site, your father gives you permission to kind of pursue your summer and it's all turning out pretty well.

AUSTIN EATON III: Yeah, it really has been good. My family has been really understanding particularly my dad, who is my business partner. He's covered my butt a bunch this summer and I hope that he has to continue to help me out this week.

I'd imagine if I make it farther on, they will probably make the trip down from New Hampshire. My dad just loves to drive, so he may get in the car at some point and I'll see him on the tee in the morning.

I hope that my wife is able to make it down as well, but I've got to keep winning.

Q. How about the golf season in New Hampshire and how that sort of makes it?

AUSTIN EATON III: It's drawing to a close. (Laughter). We've got two more months of golf up there, but my caddie, Brian Prescott, and I, were joking about the fact that if it was 50 something here this morning, we probably had frost at home. It's not long until we start having frost and then we put the clubs away for a while.

Q. You can play with these guys, you just said that; did you consider being a professional golfer as a trade?

AUSTIN EATON III: Briefly. Then I realized what a great life amateur golf affords somebody. I play some amazing places, including Merion. I've played all around the country and all around the world through amateur golf, and it's something that a lot of people should consider in terms of quality of life. I'd rather not live out of a suitcase and try to chase money. It would be fun to play golf all the time, but I think I enjoy golf more this way than I would if I were looking for a paycheck playing golf.

Q. Getting match to the match, I thought a key moment to you was I believe the 7th hole, you faced a pretty tough par putt, basically he 2 putted for par there, you seemed to take it from there, can you talk about that putt and how much that factored into your momentum?

AUSTIN EATON III: That was huge. The seventh hole, he had just made a big birdie on 6, and neither of us had played all that well until he made that birdie. Then he hit it in fairly close on 7, missed his putt, but I knew I needed to make my putt to halve the hole. It was 12, 15 feet and ran it right in. Then that sort of stopped the tide.

And on 8, I ended up making another 12 , 15 footer, probably closer to 12, to win that hole after we both hit it in the front bunker. So that really turned things around for me, those two putts.

And then I made a big save I made a big birdie putt on 12 which was also key. Those 3 putts, and then the save on 13, and the putt on 14, I putted very well today, and it makes a huge difference to make those ten to 15 foot putts.

Q. You seemed to have trouble with the speed today; on No. 10, you left it well short.

AUSTIN EATON III: There were some greens out there that had more grass on them than others. They weren't necessarily inconsistent this morning but they dried out at different paces probably. 13 was incredibly fast. There were some other greens as well that were just well, 17 was very, very fast.

Q. Does it help that you played this thing very well yesterday?

AUSTIN EATON III: Absolutely. If I had struggled here yesterday and then come out of the box and struggled a little bit today, I may have had my head down, but I knew that I could play this golf course, and if I just slowed down, and in terms of my tempo and my routine, I would be able to get myself back in it.

Q. Certainly were not given too easy of a draw, you drew a first team All American right out of the chute.

AUSTIN EATON III: Yeah, I had heard that Pablo was a very, very good player. I had never seen him play before but I had always seen his name at the top of the college rankings. He's a very nice kid. He's a real gentleman. And I love the way he flights his golf ball. He hits some really cool shots that showed me that he knows how to play in the wind, he knows how to play firm greens. I think it was his driving of the golf ball today that kept him from beating me.

End of FastScripts.

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